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June 07, 2012

I've been busy with life, or maybe I should say life has been busy with me.

In the past months I've

...lost two beloved family members. My grandma Tzoosh, who was 90 and mercifully held my hand as I got to tell her how much I love her in her final hours, and my aunt Gabriela, who was run over by a reckless driver as she was crossing the street two blocks from her house.

...discovered two other aunts have cancer, my uncle had a stroke and another uncle was hospitalized for an acute ailment.

...surprised my father for his 70th birthday. I showed up at his door unannounced. The first words he could muster, after the gasp: "You're crazy!"

...attended my 10 year college reunion, last weekend, which was 72 hours of euphoria.

...had a frightening revelation about college reunions. As they were playing "Hit Me Baby" someone said, "This is exactly what they played at the 5 year reunion." Which I missed. So basically, we'll be hearing the same songs at every reunion, forever. Wondering if we'll love it or get sick of it. Should have asked the class of '72 how they feel about the Beegees. Oh well.

...received a parking ticket, which was annoying but for once didn't seem like an injustice (see item one).

...been in a plane that was flying frighteningly close to the treetops before we got an announcement from the crew. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I... I... I don't know what's going on!" 4 minutes later we made an emergency landing. Turns out the gears were defective. So glad to be alive!

...traveled to a tiny town in Baja California to interview the writer of Natural Born Killers, who is now a real estate agent.

...become fascinated by a mommy blogger whose life and personality are completely foreign to me. Thanks to the Internet for opening my world to someone I would never know, or probably want to know, in real life: Kristin. (Wondering now if anyone reads my blog for that reason. Somehow, the haters never came out of the woodwork when I've pushed my asking agenda.)

...come to a conclusion: I'm going to drive my car to the ground. So after snapping a few moving pictures of it on a tow truck, I put in $1,400 and bought, I hope, two more years. It only has 160,000 miles. You know how I decided this? I was taking a walk one night around a neighborhood I'd like to live in, and I noticed something. They don't drive beemers. They drive Civics and Camries and Jettas. That's how they ended up living there. By not having a $750 car payment. Also, I love to travel. I really really love to travel, maybe more than I love to eat. So I want to spend my money traveling with Mr. A, instead of driving a nice car around town by myself.

...given a talk about The Daily Asker to a wonderful group of engineers, social scientists and other measurers. It reminded me how much I love spreading the gospel of asking!

...advised a professor about negotiating her salary and benefits during an exciting new job offer.

...watched no good movies in the theaters. Seriously. Nothing good out there. Any recommendations?

...learned to be selective with my time and turn down work when it's not the right fit. Being discerning has been the best move ever for my business, except for actually starting the business. By the way: looking for copywriting, branding, social media strategy or marketing design? Have no fear. Write Brain is here.

...gotten a manicure in Washington Square Park, a sunburn in Cabo San Lucas, a meaningful hug in a San Diego hospital cafeteria, a cheesesteak in Philly's airport, a text message that stunned me before the tears came, and a useful new habit: weekly walks with friends for a happy mixture of conversation and fitness.

and

...asked for advice. Forgiveness. Fair compensation. A couple of discounts. And I forget what else. Because I feel like I've lived six years these six months. Maybe the rest of the year will be calmer. But somehow I doubt it.